For as much modern tech as there is in the family-friendly sci-fi movie Earth to Echo (in theaters Wednesday) — from social media to GPS apps — there is a heap more nostalgia, as if 1980s-era Steven Spielberg hopped in a time-traveling DeLorean.

And Echo's filmmakers lean in to their biggest influences. Like the misfits of The Goonies, three young friends — Tuck (Brian "Astro" Bradley), Munch (Reese Hartwig) and Alex (Teo Halm) — enjoy a final night together before their families have to move due to a massive construction project engulfing their neighborhood.

That last adventure: helping a cute little alien get home with pesky antagonistic adults on their trail à la E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial. (Instead of being irresistibly attracted to Reese's Pieces, though, this pint-sized owlish critter can pack a wallop.)

Earth to Echo might seem an underdog going up against blockbuster rock-'em sock-'em transforming robots, but if you ask producer Andrew Panay, his movie is right where it belongs this summer.

"It has so many great things to say, and it's fresh," he says. "In the land of giants and sequels, this is a really special movie that holds up in a very different way."

While it may not do Transformers-size business, it's been years since a movie captured that innocent wonder from the '80s as Earth to Echo does, says Dave Karger, chief correspondent for movie-ticket site Fandango.

"Kids will fall in love with the title character while adults will appreciate a break from all the apocalyptic films this summer," he says. "If the movie strikes a chord with the family audience, it could really capitalize on a relative lack of competition."

Three young friends make an unexpected extraterrestrial discovery while looking for the source of the strange things happening in their neighborhood.
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Panay was on a run one morning and thinking about Short Circuit, Indiana Jones films and others he grew up with when he hatched the main hook for Earth to Echo.

If E.T. came to Earth in 2014 and ran into some random kids, those youngsters wouldn't freak out. They'd pull out their iPhones. "You would make sure to document it because no one would believe your story," says Panay, 43.

The handheld storytelling of Earth to Echo adds universality to the whole concept, notes Hartwig, 15. "Kids can relate with the movie and it seems a lot more real, and older people can recognize movies the way they used to be. It's like a little familiar face."

Echo director Dave Green was determined to capture the mix of suspense, comedy, scares and heart he loved in Spielbergian fare such as Gremlins, Goonies and Back to the Future.

"They were that perfect blend of tone we don't see as much of anymore," says Green, 31. "I still go to movies as that 10-year-old just waiting to see Jurassic Park again."

Those films, as well as John Hughes films, also captured a younger perspective, the director adds. "Growing up, they felt like our experiences."

But he acknowledges that today's generation has seen a lot more of the world, thanks to the Internet, than kids had 30 years ago, and society as a whole is more cynical and jaded.

Green admits he didn't think about how Earth to Echo would play to today's kids until he was editing the movie in post-production. Yet a few private screenings for families and some "This is my favorite movie ever!" comments from children led him to think they were on the right track.

One 8-year-old wrote in a note to Green that Echo "is awesome because it tells kids they can accomplish anything they set their minds to."

"We got to see kids really feel a sense of ownership of the movie," he says. "They were telling us the movie was speaking to them at their eye level."

No matter the era, the human spirit remains constant, says Panay, whether it's a classic film or one with a more modern feel.

"Emotion never changes, from your first kiss to your first heartbreak to the first time you are punished by your parents to the first time you let them down," he says.

"It's the same as it was when we were young, growing up in the '80s. It's so rad to see kids and families take to the movie because the themes are so tried and true."